Life After Death/Issue 4
There was a rustling in the forest, like someone thrashing through the trees. Eric pulled out his machette, and signalled for Andre to follow him. "I heard something." Eric told him. "What was it?" Andre asked. "Some rustling, sounded like it may have been one of them." The two approached the forest when they saw an indian man covered in blood and guts stumble out. "Who the hell are you?" Eric asked. The man just kept panting. "Why are you covered in blood?" "Those things..." he replied under his breath. "I fought off so many." "Were you bit?" Andre asked. "No, thankfully." "What's your name?" questioned Eric a second time. "My name is Mark." ---- Gregory was on his way back from his tent to serve the soup when he heard those words. "I give you permission to kill them." He nearly dropped the bowls and spoons he was holding when he heard that. Gregory had always had some discomfort with Eric leading their group, but allowing someone to kill them was going too far for him. He left the dishes by the fire, which had a put of soup boiling on it, and walked off. Emily was on her way back from asking Leslie if she wanted food when Gregory intercepted her. "Where's Devon?" he questioned. "He was sitting by Dolph's tent," she answered. "Why?" "Nothing...I just need to speak to him." Gregory walked over to Dolph's tent, which he was still sitting by. "Have you seen Devon around, Dolph?" "A few minutes ago," Dolph informed him. "We were talking about beer and football, I think he went to check on his sister." Gregory went over to the large tent which Leslie was being treated in, and saw Devon outside talking to Bill. "Oh, yeah, it's a pretty big tent," Bill said to Devon. "Alright, thanks," he replied. "Don't thank me." Devon turned around, and ran into Gregory. "There you are," Gregory said. "I need to tell you something." Gregory gestured for Devon to follow him, and Bill gave him an evil glare. Around the side of the tent, the two conversed. "Listen, Devon...I know I wasn't for you joining us, but..." "What?" Devon asked. "I overheard Eric giving Andre permission to kill you if something happens." Devon was speechless. "I don't think he's going to wait for you to do something wrong. After what happened to his wife, Jenny...he's not all that trusting of strangers." "Are you saying...he's going to kill us first chance he gets?" "That's exactly what I'm saying." "Why are you warning me? I thought you were against us joining." "I was against you joining, I didn't want you two to get killed in cold blood. Your best bet would be to leave." "How do I know you aren't lying?" "Excuse me?" "You don't want us to use up your supplies, so this could be some trick to get us to leave." "I'm not the kind of person to stoop down to that petty level. If you don't want to believe me, fine, but I'm not going to take any blame when you and your sister end up with a bullet in your heads." ---- "Why are you out here?" Eric questioned Mark. "My camp was attacked," he said. "I was the only one to make it out. Everyone I knew...is dead." Eric and Andre exchanged looks. "We have a camp...if you're willing to pull your own weight and help out, I guess we'd be able to take you in." "Really? Oh, thank you. Thank you so much." "Do you have any weapons on you?" "No, I left my knife in one of their heads." "Alright, just make sure you don't cause any trouble, and we'll get along fine." "I won't, I promise." ---- "Here, Devon," Emily said as she walked up to him as he was sitting by the fire. She handed him a bowl of tomato soup. "I know you said you didn't want any, but you need to eat something." She then passed a bowl to Leslie, who was sitting beside him. "Oh, thanks," Devon said blankly, thinking over what Gregory had said. Was Andre really going to kill them? he thought to himself. After about an hour, Eric stood up from his seat. "Alright, everyone," he announced. "After today's unexpected delay, we're going to have to spend the night here. However, we need to get going west tomorrow. After all the gunshots today, I'm fully expecting those shitheads to start knocking at our front door. So, I advise you all to hit the hay now, so we can get going bright and early tomorrow." Eric walked off to a blue truck and got inside while Gregory leaped into the back, Dolph went inside his tent, Andre hopped inside a small, red sports car, and Bill and Brie went inside their tent, the one Leslie's cut was tended to in. "Come on," Emily said to Devon and Leslie. "You guys can sleep in my tent." She walked over to a large, triangular tent. She zipped it open, and inside, Devon and Leslie's bags were sitting in a corner of the large tent. "I already brought your stuff in for you." "Thanks," Devon said. "This tent is big," Leslie pointed out. "It was just you sleeping in here?" "Yeah," she answered. "Well, me and most of our supplies. But, tonight I'll sleep in Bill and Brie's tent so you guys can have your privacy," Devon and Leslie both lied down on the blankets on one half of the tent, where their stuff was. "Goodnight," Emily said as she walked outside. "I really like it here," Leslie said after a few seconds of silence. "Everyone's so nice...I really hope they let us stay. We could help with supplies and keep the group safe." "I hope they let us stay, too," Devon agreed. ---- Eric, Andre, and Mark all walked past a small strip of grass onto a dirt road, where there was a truck and a car parked, and a bunch of people sitting around a fire on the other side of the road. When the three approached, everyone turned and looked at them. "This is Mark," Eric said to the group. "We found him in the forest, and he's going to be joining us." "We're just taking in random strangers, now?" a black woman with short hair objected. "Jenny," Andre said. "Eric did the same for us. We did the same for Emily and Dolph, too." "I guess you're right," "Plus, we could use the extra help." Later that night, most of the group was sleeping in their cars and a few tents that were pitched beside, except for Mark, who was laying in a sleeping bag outside, and Andre and Jenny, who were talking outside the red car. "I'm going to bed, now," Andre told her. "I'll be in in a minute, I was gonna have a smoke." "Okay, be quick, though, don't want you to get eaten." "Oh, don't worry about me. If any of those assholes tried to get me, I have my knife," the two laughed and then kissed, and Andre went inside the car. Jenny walked over to the edge of the grass strip by the forest, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lighter from the bags that were sitting there. Mark quietly got out of his sleeping bag, and snuck across the grass. He pulled a pocket knife out from his boot, and crept behind Jenny. He covered her mouth, and stuck the knife in her neck. However, as he did that, Jenny pulled out her knife, and stabbed him in his leg. He waited until she stopped moving, then let go, and pulled the knife out of his leg. "Fuck," he whispered to himself. He looked over at the supplies, grabbed them, and bolted onto the road. ---- The next day, Devon awoke early in the morning. Leslie was still sound asleep beside him. He got up and left Leslie so she could sleep, and walked outside to see everyone packing their things. "Morning, early bird," Eric said to Devon, jokingly mocking him. "Why don't you grab your stuff and pack up?" "Really?" Devon asked. "I thought we were just with you temporarily?" "Well, we're gonna take you guys with us for a few days. Leslie still needs some time to heal." "Alright." Devon went back in the tent and grabbed their two bags. Laying there was the pistol. Devon pondered for a moment, then grabbed it and put it in his bag. Leslie opened her eyes, awakened by the noise. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Packing our stuff," Devon informed her. "We're going with Eric's group in a bit. It's okay, you can go back to sleep for a while." Leslie closed her eyes and Devon walked out with his stuff. He walked over to Emily, who set her gun down on one of the logs by the firepit. "Here," she said, grabbing the bags. "I'll throw them in the truck for you." "Thanks," Devon said. He looked over at Andre, who was sitting by the firepit, watching Devon with a cold stare. ---- "NO!" Andre screamed as he fell beside the corpse of his wife. She had a stab wound in her neck and appeared to have drowned in her blood. The rest of the group ran to see what happened. "Oh my god," Dolph said. "Jesus fucking Christ," Bill exclaimed. Eric noticed that their supplies were gone. "That fucking rat!" he yelled. "He stole our fucking supplies!" "If I find that piece of shit," Andre started. "I'll kill him." "Guys," Brie said, standing by the road. "Look! There's a trail of blood. And there's a knife on the ground...Jenny must have stabbed him." Andre walked over to the car and pulled out a fire axe from the back. "Let's go," he said as he got inside his car. Everyone else quickly tore down their tents and jumped in the two vehicles. After about 15 minutes of driving, Andre saw the trail of blood curve into the forest. He parked on the road, and the truck pulled in beside him. Everyone got out and gathered. "Me and Andre will go," Eric announced. "The rest of you, wait here for us to get back. This will probably be dangerous." The two men walked off into the forest, following the now-hard to see trail of blood. They kept an eye out for Mark as they ventured deeper into the forest. "There," Eric whispered, and pointed to a man lying against a tree. The two men approached, and saw that it was Mark. His eyes shot open, and he pulled out a knife. "Stay back," he said. "You fucking son of a bitch," Andre said. "You killed my wife! You're fucking dead!" "I-I'm sorry! I swear I-" "No!" Mark rose to his feet and tried to run, but Andre slammed his axe into his waist. "AH FUCK!" Mark screamed, but Andre kept swinging as Eric stood back and watched in horror. Andre sliced one last time, cutting Mark completely in two. Mark reached his hands out, trying desperately to crawl, but couldn't move. After a few moments, his eyes shut, and Andre turned around and headed back to the road. ---- Devon walked over to Emily's tent to wake up Leslie, when he heard the familar growl. He turned the corner and saw one of the undead shambling towards him. He thought about warning the others, but figured he could take one of them by himself. Andre was still sitting by the firepit, and saw Devon approach the corpse. He looked over at the others, who were still packing things in the vehicle, not paying attention to him. He picked up Emily's gun, and aimed it at Devon. Devon pulled a knife out of his pocket, and slowly approached the reanimated corpse. He was about to stick the knife in it when he heard something. *BOOM* Credits * * * * * * * * * * (Flashback) * (Flashback) Deaths *Jenny Richards (Flashback) *Mark (Flashback) Trivia *First and last appearance of (Flashback). *First and last appearance of (Flashback).